


The Comedian and The Clown

by QuietCreative1



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Gen, Mental Illness, mentions of abuse, mentions of suicide/self harm, spoilers from movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 7,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22467997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietCreative1/pseuds/QuietCreative1
Summary: [This is based off the film Joker (2019). This is somewhat not in movie order.] Arthur Fleck meets his alter ego, Joker.
Kudos: 7





	1. The Gunshot Was Heard

Gotham City, the evening.

Arthur Fleck was walking the sidewalks, his head hung low. In his possession was a white paper bag, containing his mother's medicine. The light around him was dim, but he could still see what was around him. He then looks up, seeing the tall stone staircase before him.

Walking up the stairs felt like a chore to him. He sighed to himself, continuing up the staircase.

As he made it to the top, he suddenly heard a gunshot not to far away for him to hear. He picked up his head in shock, his eyes wide. He stopped in his tracks.

Curiously washed over him.

He started to speed walk down the sidewalk. Another shot was heard.

Arthur stopped, gripping the white bag tightly in his hand.

Looking over to his left, there was an alleyway. It was dark, giving an almost trapped feel to it. He shook his head, not wanting to get into any fights one way or another.

He then heard shouting from the dark alleyway.

"See how you like it? Did you wanna hear another joke?!"

Arthur stood back, feeling threatened. He didn't know who this guy was screaming at. It could have been someone else, it could have been him.

Arthur tried to speak but no words came out. He was in complete shock.

He then sees a figure emerging from the darkness around him. The figure stopped, putting something into his suit pocket.

Arthur backed up again once more. He looked away from the alleyway and bolted out of the situation he was in. Running for his life.

He looked back, now seeing that it had became a chase. The person that was in the darkness was running after him. Arthur couldn't get a good look at him. He only looked back for a second and then looked forward again.

"Hey! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

Arthur skidded to a stop. He turned to look at the person behind him.

The person had some sort of clown makeup over his face. His hair was a bright green, almost like it was dyed that color. He was wearing a neat looking red suit and pants. Under the suit was a yellow vest and a fancy green collar shirt. His shoes were brown and looked polished.

Arthur walked up to him. "Why were you chasing after me?"

"I was just wanting to ask you, did I scare you?" He looked at Arthur with a smirk.

"Yeah, you did. Now, why were you chasing me?"

"Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Joker, and you?" Joker held out his left hand.

"Arthur."

They shook each other's hand.

"You heard the gunshots, right?" Joker asked.

Arthur sighed. "Yes, I did. That's why I stood there. Who did you shot anyway?"

"Oh, just some guy picking on me. I don't know why these people have problems with others in this damn city. It's awful!" Joker scoffed, throwing his arms in the air.

"I can understand."

Joker looked over at him, intrigued. "Care to tell me?"

"Some kids stole a sign from me. Broke it by bashing my head with it." Arthur covers his mouth with his hand, checking if he was gonna start laughing.

Joker nodded a bit. "Hey, it's alright. Have to say, talking about problems really help with your thoughts."

Arthur puts his hands in the pockets of his pale yellow light jacket. He looked back at Joker. "That's why I have a therapist. To talk about this stuff."

"Come on now. Is there really anyone you can trust here?" Joker took a step towards him. "This place is a dump."

Arthur shook his head. "I know, it's horrible." He then paused. "I just remembered. I have to get to my apartment."

Joker rolled his eyes. "Is there anything else you want to add before that pause?"

Arthur looks at him. "I said what I said. It's horrible, that's all I can say for how it treats me."

"You mean society?"

Arthur nods. "Hey, thanks for the talk, Joker. Now, if you'll excuse me; I have to go."

Joker chuckles lightly. "God, you are just so eager to get going, huh? Wanting to wake up back to the same dull place?"

"Okay, okay, stop," Arthur says, starting to walk away.

"You don't just want to get back at it for what it's doing to you?"

Arthur shakes his head, not looking back at Joker for one second.

"Did you clearly hear that gunshot?" Joker called out.

Is this guy gonna keep talking to me? What am I supposed to say? Arthur thought to himself. He turned to look at Joker. "What do you want from me? Do you-"

"Do you mind if I tag along with you?" Joker cuts Arthur's sentence short. "I feel like you and I can get along." Joker dusts off his right shoulder.

Arthur stops and sighs. "Alright, if you want to."

Joker smiles, following Arthur to the apartment building.

~~~

As the two entered the apartment building, chills went up both of their spines.

"Damn, it's cold," Joker said through gritted teeth.

Arthur looks over at him and nods. "Yeah, the air conditioning isn't good here."

"I can tell."

They both walked over to an elevator and waited for it to open. Once it had opened, they walked inside. Arthur pushed the button a couple of times. It then started to move.

Joker rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be living in a building like this. It's all rundown to the ground."

Arthur only nodded.

The elevator door opened. They both walked out, turning to the left of the hallway.

"This is the apartment I live in with my mother. I know, it sounds weird but-"

"That's fine."

Arthur unlocked the door, the warmth of the room creeping up both of their spines.

"This is way better than I imagined it," Joker commented, looking at it with awe.

"Thanks, Joker."


	2. Morning Wake Up

The morning sun shone through the windows of Apartment 8J. In a different room, an alarm clock went off.

Joker groaned, sitting up on the couch. He blinked his eyes, looking around the living room of the apartment.

It's so bright in here, Joker thought, sliding off the couch. He walks into the bedroom, turning off the alarm. He walks out, stretching his arms and legs.

Is Arthur up yet?

He then looks down the hall, seeing Arthur's head laying on a desk. Joker sighed, buttoning his yellow vest. Joker walked over to him, but stayed a little away from the other.

Can I just wake him up? He talked about his job yesterday.

Joker shakes his shoulders. No response from the other. Joker sighs, a little annoyed.

Are you a heavy sleeper? Joker thought. He thinks for a moment, then he gasped. He smiles, backing away from the desk. I'm going to get killed for this, but in reality, he has to wake up sometime.

Joker closes his eyes and starts to scream loudly. He then hears a bang. He opens his eyes to see Arthur on the floor on his side, groaning softly. Arthur mutters curses as he stands up slowly.

"Morning, sleepy head." Joker grins. "Slept well, I see."

"What in the hell was that, Joker?"

Joker chuckles. "Just a wake up call for you. You know today's Thursday, right?"

Arthur's eyes widened. He muttered once again. He suddenly bolted out the door.

You didn't have to rush out of the room, gosh, Joker thought, facepalming. Joker walks over to the couch, taking a seat. He yawns, shaking his head.

Am I going to be living in a comedy with this man? Joker smiles at the thought.


	3. The Coworker's Gun

Thursday evening, Gotham City.

Arthur opens up his apartment room door, muttering to himself. In his right hand was a brown paper bag. He closes the door behind him, weakly smiling.

It's been a long day.

Arthur walks over to couch. He then looks around.

Did Joker leave?

He then sighs, now sitting on the couch. He unraveled the hold that he had on the bag. He looks down into the bag, smiling to himself. Inside the bag contained a .39 revolver and some bullets. He then looks up at the TV.

Maybe I just need something to listen to, Arthur thought, walking over to the TV, turning it on. He then sets up a channel and sits back down.

As Slap That Bass starts to play, Arthur starts to look down at the gun, drumming the gun to the beat on the wooden table. He then takes out some bullets from the paper bag, placing them inside of the chamber of the revolver. He closes up the chamber, looking more closely at the gun.

~~~

Joker walked down the hall, seeing the other doors lined up. He then looks down at the tile floor.

Looks like this place hasn't been cleaned, Joker thought, rolling his eyes. He then gets to the door of apartment room 8J. He holds the doorknob and turns it. It doesn't move.

Locked? Seriously, Arthur?

Joker then bangs on the door. He then looks through his suit pockets.

Damn, no key.

He then hears the door unlock. The door opens, revealing Arthur, a bit shaken up. "Hey."

"Hey. Why did you lock the door?" Joker walks in. Arthur closes the door, locking it once more.

"I just needed to do something."

Joker looks at him. "Needed to do something? Like what."

Arthur slides his left foot in a small circle on the floor. Looking away from Joker, he says, "Trying out this gun I got."

"A gun?" Joker looks around the room. "Where is it?"

Arthur sighs. He then walks back to where the gun was, on the carpet floor of the living room. Picking it up, he walks back over to the other.

"Here."

Joker takes the gun from Arthur's slightly shaking hands. "You didn't tell me you got a gun. Where did you get it?" He smiles.

"Oh, I got it from one of my co workers, that's all."

"Really? Your co workers have that kind of money, while you don't?" Joker smirked.

Arthur scoffed. "Alright, stop talking, Joker. Do you even know how I'm living in this city?"

Joker shrugs his shoulders.

Arthur shakes his head, annoyed. "You know, I could just leave out there on the streets, right?"

"Okay, okay," Joker says, putting his hands up. "I'll stop being so negative, Arthur."

Is there anyway to get on his good side? Maybe, maybe not, Joker thought to himself, looking into the living room.


	4. Getting Fired

Friday evening.

Joker places a tape of the Murray Franklin Show inside of the VHS box. He pressed the play button and sat back down on the couch. He takes out his notebook from his pocket and started to write down notes while watching the tape.

~~~

Arthur walked down the hall, head hung low. He opens up the apartment door, then closes it behind him.

Joker looks up from his notebook. "Hello. How was your day?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." Arthur covers his mouth, walking over to the couch.

Joker closes his notebook shut. "Did you use the gun?"

Arthur shakes his head, uncovering his mouth. He starts to smile, starting a laughing fit.

Joker's eyes widened. He backed up from him a bit.

The laughing continues, getting louder and worse. He started to choke on the laughter. Arthur suddenly started to cough, trying to settle down the laughing.

The laughing finally stopped.

Joker sighed softly. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. My mental illness got to me, sorry."

Joker nodded a bit. "So, what happened?"

"Got fired from my job at HaHa's. Wait, I said I didn't want to talk about this," Arthur says, looking at Joker.

"Well, now you've told me." Joker smiled.

Arthur rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Good talk, Joker." He then looked at the TV. "You're watching," he trailed off his sentence. Arthur looked at the notebook in Joker's hands. "Is that my notebook?"

"No, no. This is my own notebook, Arthur. I saw that it looks like yours."

Arthur nods.

Joker opens the notebook back up, looking through it.


	5. The Comedy Club Gig

Arthur is walking the sidewalks of Gotham City. Clouds filled the sky like a gas. As he walked the stone cracked sidewalk, he looked over at wall after wall of buildings covered in posters of a clown.

He stopped, reading the posters. He took one of the posters off of the wall, smiling to himself. He knew what had happened on the day on the subway. He laughed to himself quietly, folding up the poster and putting it in his light jacket pocket. Arthur then continued to walk down the sidewalk.

~~~

Arthur opened the door, smelling smoke. He walked in seeing Joker in the kitchen, having a cigarette. Arthur closed the door behind himself.

"Hey, Joker."

"Better day than last week?" Joker puffs out smoke from his mouth. He looks at Arthur, who is now walking past him.

"Yeah. Have to say much better." Arthur sits down on the couch. The TV was showing the news. The news was talking about the subway murders.

Joker walked over behind the couch. "They just been talking about this subway murder that happened last week." Joker starts to use his cigarette as a way to draw a smiley face on one of the walls.

Arthur didn't pay attention to the other in the room. He was too interested in what the news was talking about.

"Hey, you listening to me?" Joker flicked his cigarette into the small trash bin near the kitchen bar wall.

Arthur didn't respond.

"Hey! Arthur! Are you there?" Joker said loudly.

Arthur suddenly shushed him.

Joker walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Arthur. The news was now interviewing Thomas Wayne.

They are interviewing him? Seriously? Joker thought, rolling his eyes in disgust.

A moment later, the news station then cuts to commercial. Joker then gets up, turning off the TV.

"So, about those subway murders. Who did it?"

Arthur spoke. "It was me."

Joker turns around, shocked. "Wait, you did it? Are you joking with me?"

"It's not a joke. I stood up for myself and killed them with that gun I got. My co worker Randall told me to use it for protection, 'cause this city could fuck me over. Everyone out there, even in that subway, were animals."

Joker smiles, walking over to him. "I can't believe it. You fought back!" Joker grins.

Arthur stood up. Joker backed up from where he stood. "You didn't see it in me?"

"I did. I just," Joker paused. "Is there anything else you care to tell me? I'm happy to listen."

"Remembered something." Arthur takes out a piece of folded paper out from his left jacket pocket. He opens it up. "I just got a flyer for a try at stand-up comedy at Pogo's Comedy Club."

"Now I know why you are having a good day today."

"You gonna watch me?" Arthur asked.

Joker nods. "Of course! I couldn't let an opportunity like that side!" Joker places an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "Seeing you do your stand-up comedy would be great to see."

Arthur smiles. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

~~~

Joker walks into Pogo's Comedy Club. It was now the evening.

The comedy club was dim with a bright warm light aiming at the stage and for the lamps at each of the tables. Joker sits at one of the tables in the front.

This place is pretty crowded.

Joker took out his notebook. He then looked around, seeing Arthur far from the stage. The host of the club started to talk.

After that, Arthur walked up to the stage. Small rounds of clapping began.

Hopefully this will be good, Joker thought, now looking at the stage.

The bright light hit Arthur's eyes, making him squint. He then started to laugh quietly. Then, the laughing fit started. Arthur covered his mouth with his inner elbow, trying to stop it.

Small chuckles from the audience were heard. Joker coughed into his elbow.

Come on, you can get through this, Joker thought, smiling to himself.

Arthur's laughing fit slowly had stopped. He then flipped through his notebook, looking for a joke.

The laughing had stopped. Arthur then tells his joke with a smile. The audience laughs, smiles all around the room.

~~~

Joker and Arthur are walking down the sidewalk after being inside of the comedy club.

"That was a great performance, Arthur," Joker says, looking at him.

"It was nothing. I embarrassed myself up there."

Joker lightly elbowed him. "You did great, and that's what makes me proud."

Arthur rolls his eyes, a small smile on his face. He then stopped in his tracks.

Joker stopped, confused.

Arthur was now looking at a poster of the subway killings. Joker walks to his side, reading the poster.

Is this clown craze gonna end? Joker thought to himself.

Arthur smiled to himself.

"Arthur? You alright?"

Arthur blinked his eyes. "My head is right here, Joker." He looked at Joker.

They continued to walk down the sidewalk.

~~~

An ambulance was parked outside the apartment complex. Joker's eyes widened. Arthur sees his mother in a stretcher.

Arthur rushes over to the stretcher, panicked.

Oh no, Joker thought, staying away from the situation.

Arthur walks to the ambulance truck. He gets inside, now answering questions.

The truck speeds off.


	6. Penny in the Hospital

Nighttime, Gotham City.

Joker walks through an alleyway, looking for the Gotham General Hospital. As he saw the dimness of the street lights, he peeked behind the wall, looking at the building before him.

It was a huge hospital for such a run down city. It had some orange glow to it for navigation at night.

He then saw a figure sitting on the bench.

That must be Arthur, Joker thought to himself.

Suddenly, he heard someone's voice.

"Mr. Fleck!"

Two people were walking over to the bench, supposedly to talk to the man on the bench.

After a moment, Joker heard something. Then, it went silent. Joker got out from where he was and walked across the street, walking to the hospital's entrance.

~~~

Arthur was sitting in the available chairs that were in the room. It was a cold, dim room. He was looking down at the tile floor.

A knock was heard.

"Come in," Arthur muttered.

Joker walks in, sitting next to Arthur. "Who were those guys that were talking to you?"

Arthur looked at Joker. His facial expression gave him a look of him being tiredly ill. "Those were two detectives. They talked to me about the subway murders. I lied to them."

"Understandable."

Silence filled the room. Then, a small TV started to play the Murray Franklin Show.

Arthur looks up at the TV, a weak smile on his lips.

"I'm just going to get us some water, okay?"

Arthur nodded.

Joker left the room, closing the door behind himself.

~~~

Joker saw that the door was open. He sighed to himself, walking into the room. He saw Arthur now standing in the middle of the room, looking up at the TV.

A familiar voice was heard from the TV's small speakers.

Is that the stand up he did? Joker thought, looking at the TV. It then cuts to Murray Franklin Show yet again.

Arthur's smile dropped. He looked up at the TV with anger and disgust. He then sat back down in the chair, his head hung low.

Joker walks over to him. "Here's the drink I got." He hands Arthur the cup. Arthur takes it, not taking a sip out of it. He just looks at it.

Joker takes a small sip from his cup. "Are people this harsh to others that they don't even know?"

Arthur stayed silent, thoughts cutting through his mind like a knife.


	7. Visiting the Waynes

It was now the next week. Monday, in the afternoon.

Joker was watching the news on the TV. Arthur enters the living room, looking at Joker.

"So, I looked through my mother's letters for Thomas Wayne-"

"Wait. Thomas Wayne?" Joker looks at Arthur, standing up. "Him? Why is she writing letters to a guy that will call poor people 'clowns'?"

"She did tell me about-"

"Stop." Joker cut Arthur's sentence short. "I'm going to go over to their place and try to talk to him. You, stay here."

Arthur nods, walking over to the couch.

~~~

Joker walks down a quiet sidewalk. There are trees and bushes that give the feeling of being free. Breathing in the calm air, Joker sees some type of mansion. He looks into the outdoor area, seeing a kid about ten years old playing.

He smirks, walking down the sidewalk.

The kid looks at him for a moment, then slides down a black metal pole.

Joker stops at a metal black gate. The kid walks up to the gate, confused.

"Hey, do you mind if I see someone here?"

The kid doesn't answer. He seems a bit frightened by Joker's appearance.

"What's your name?"

The kid is silent.

"Bruce!" A butler comes out of nowhere and puts a hand on the kid's shoulder, moving the kid behind him.

"Hey, I need to see Thomas Wayne. My friend needs his help," Joker explains.

"Looking like that will not do, sir. Do you want me to call the cops?"

"I'm not a part of the protests, I swear. I just need to see him."

The butler comes close to the gate. "You don't need to see him. He is busy with something at the moment."

Joker rolls his eyes, annoyed. "Come on, you got to help my friend."

"Is your friend delusional? Did your friend think that Mr. Wayne was," the butler trailed off. He mutters the rest of his sentence.

Joker shuts his mouth. Joker then suddenly grabs the butler's neck, choking him. Within that moment, the kid looks at what is going on, his eyes wide.

Joker releases his neck from his hands, not fully killing the butler. Joker then runs away, seeing the kid's face.

~~~

Joker opens up the door, walking in. He closes the door behind himself. He turns and locks the door.

"Hey."

Joker looks at Arthur, who was sitting on the couch. He was looking down at the gun placed on the wooden table.

"What are you doing, Arthur?" Joker asked, walking towards the other.

Arthur is staring at the gun, not paying attention to Joker.

Joker snapped his fingers. No response. "Hey?"

"What?"

Is he thinking about something? Joker thought.

Now, Arthur starts to pick up the gun, looking closely at it. Joker gripped the right wrist quickly.

Joker looked down at him. "I know you don't want to do that. Give me that gun, you're too unstable to have it."

"No." Arthur is still looking at the gun. "There is no way that you are thinking that I was going to do that."

"Well, it sure is showing in you. Hand it to me."

Arthur shakes his hand. He then tries to get Joker's grip off of his wrist.

"I'm not letting go until you hand it to me."

"Let go!" Arthur said through gritted teeth.

"I'm trying to help you, Arthur," Joker told him, trying to move his arm away from the other's body.

Arthur suddenly looks up at him. "Just, please. Let me use it."

Joker shakes his head.

Then, the two started to fight over the gun. Then, it fired. The two stopped struggling to see the bullet went through the kitchen's bar wall.

Joker lets go of Arthur's wrist.

"That's why. Now, I'm just going to step away." Joker walks away from the other. He walks into the bathroom, going to cool down.

Arthur stares at a random wall.

I should have killed myself on that one week, Arthur thought.

~~~

Nighttime.

Arthur laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Joker walks in, closing the door behind him.

"Why are you here?"

Joker chuckles. "Just wanted to check in on you. You seemed upset."

Arthur sat up. He tugged on the sleeves of his brown v-collar shirt. "Yeah. You took the gun away from me when I had the chance."

"The chance to do what?"

"To kill myself," Arthur muttered.

Joker looks at him. "You were wanting to," he paused. "Are you serious about that?"

"This city has treated me like shit. You were right."

Joker unbuttons his yellow vest.

"Remember when we first met? You told me those things, but I didn't listen. I was getting bothered by what you said."

"So you didn't listen to me?"

"No," Arthur said. "I thought that my life would have gotten better, but it didn't."

Joker folds up his vest. "So, now we agree on something?"

Arthur nods.

Joker places a hand on his shoulder. "I guess you will embrace the chaos that will come in the future."

Arthur looks up at him, confused.

"You'll see later." Joker turns on the small TV in the bedroom. It's on the news. It's talking about the clown craze. In the background, riots were happening.

Arthur's eyes widened. He moved closer to the TV.

Joker smiles as he listens to what's going on in Gotham. Arthur is staring at the TV, taking it all in. He smiles weakly.

"I'm really happy you did that." Joker looks at Arthur.

"I am, too. I felt guilty about it."

Joker sits next to him. "Why do you feel guilty? There are people out there, cheering on what you did, Arthur. You are finally getting your voice heard."

Arthur chuckles to himself.

Joker suddenly brings him into a hug. "This is the time to be alive, Arthur."

"You're right, Joker." Arthur hugs back, smiling wide.


	8. Trying to Find the Truth

A riot is happening outside the Wayne Theater. It's really late at night. Arthur is squeezing through the crowd of people wearing masks and holding signs.

The rioters are trying to attack the officers who were in front of the theater. Arthur is walking through the crowd, smiling like he has never smiled before.

He then slips through the chaotic mess of a riot. He walks along the side of the huge building.

~~~

Arthur buttons up a bell boy outfit that he found inside of the fancy, fragile looking theater. He walks up the carpet staries, going inside of the theater. The first thing he sees is a wide screen with a black and white film. It plays soft music in the background of the film.

This is how these people live? Arthur thought, looking around with his eyes. He then saw a familiar face.

He starts to sway to the music, smiling a little. The man that Arthur looks at gets up from his seat, leaving the room.

Arthur abruptly leaves the room, trying to see where he went.

~~~

Joker is watching Live! With Murray Franklin on the TV. He was taking notes in his notebook. He yawns.

When is Arthur getting back? He must be sleep deprived.

Arthur opened the door, walking in. He closes the door and locks it. He takes off his light jacket.

"See? You didn't need to go out there, Arthur." Joker looks over at him.

Arthur muttered to himself quietly. He walks over to the couch and sits with a huff.

"So? What happened? Tell me."

Arthur shook his head. "Just, not good." He then smiles, covering his mouth.

"Oh, don't tell me you are stressed about talking about-"

Arthur's laughing fit started.

Joker sighs, a little annoyed. His eyes started to drift off to sleep.

The laughing suddenly stops by Arthur coughing harshly.

Joker opened his eyes. He yawned once more. "You need sleep. Come on."

"I don't want to sleep, Joker," Arthur told him.

"Well, you should have slept before this."

The TV started to play an instrumental version of That's Life.

Maybe a little dance wouldn't hurt.

Joker held out his left hand. "Wanna dance our cares away?"

Arthur nodded, placing his hand in Joker's.

They stood up from the couch, starting to sway to the music. Joker's step matched the beat of the music almost perfectly, while Arthur was trying not to stumble around.

"You okay? Or are you just tired?" Joker teased with a smirk.

"I'm alright, Joker." Arthur looks down at his feet, trying to match up with him.

A voice on the TV started to go through the speakers. Joker ended the dance suddenly.

Arthur stumbled a bit, but kept his balance.

"Wasn't that nice?" Joker lets go of Arthur's hand. Arthur slowly lets go of the other's hand.

"Yeah, it was. I see that you are a great dancer."

Joker smiled. "Thanks. You struggled a bit, I could see. Now, how about we head off to bed?"

Arthur nodded. He started to walk away from Joker.

"Goodnight, Arthur!" Joker called out to him.

Arthur smiled.

Goodnight to you, too, Arthur thought to himself as he closed the bedroom door behind himself.


	9. File Madness

It's a cloudy Tuesday in Gotham City.

Arthur and Joker are walking down the sidewalk towards Arkham State Hospital.

"You need a file? Why?" Joker asks Arthur.

"To find out the truth of what Thomas said, that's all."

"Alright, if you say so."

They walk across the street towards the entrance.

~~~

The hospital was a neat, clean looking place inside. The color of the walls seemed muted and pale. Arthur stood outside the clerk's workspace, a metal net blocking him and the person looking for the file.

"He'll get it eventually." Joker looked over at him.

Arthur covered his mouth, seeing if he was going to start laughing.

"Are you becoming stressed?"

Arthur nods, uncovering his mouth. "A bit. I'll be fine, Joker."

"Hey, found the box, man," the clerk called out, placing the box on top of the desk. "You are talking about something thirty years ago, so I had to dig this up. Sorry to keep you waiting."

The clerk then mutters to himself, looking through file after file for Penny Fleck's name.

"So, how do people end up here?" Arthur asks the clerk. "Have they all committed crimes?"

"Some of them have, some are a danger to others and themselves, some of them just don't have anywhere else to be but here," the clerk explains, looking at Arthur.

"You know," Arthur spoke, walking closer to the desk. "I have had that happen to me before, I believe."

The clerk looks up at him, confused.

"I fucked up. I've done some bad shit." Arthur chuckles with a small smile.

The clerk looks down at the files, continuing to look through them.

"You know, it's just so hard to be happy all the time."

The clerk stops what he is doing. "Hey. Can you look at me?"

Arthur looks over at him.

"I'm just a clerk, why are you telling me this stuff? Is there any help out there? Someone to talk to?"

"Oh, they cut all those," Arthur says mockingly.

What are you doing? Joker thought, feeling annoyed. He then taps Arthur on the shoulder.

Arthur looks over at him.

"Arthur, you shouldn't be talking like that. What happens if you tell him about that day?" Joker told him in a harsh whisper.

Arthur sighed quietly. He turns his head back to the clerk.

"Found it. Penny Fleck." The clerk holds the file. He opens it, looking through it. Arthur leans on the metal net, trying to look at the file.

"Diagnosed by Benjamin Stoner, patient suffers from psychosis and narcissistic personality disorder. Had endangered the life fair of her own child." The clerk looks up at Arthur.

"What?"

"You're her child, right?"

Arthur nods with a smile.

The clerk closes the file shut. "I can't hand it to you. It could get me in trouble. I need to see her to get a signature."

Joker cuts into the conversation. "Hey. How about I take it?"

"Sorry, you just can't."

Arthur is looking at the file. He reaches into the small opening in the metal net. He grabs the file. The clerk grabs the file, trying to pull it away from Arthur's hands.

With a bit of a struggle, Arthur retrieves the file, running down the hallway, his steps echoing as he runs.

"Hey!" The clerk yelled, banging his fist on the metal net.

Joker runs after Arthur, not happy in the slightest.

~~~

"What in the hell was that?" Joker calls out, walking down the stairs. He sees that Arthur stopped on a flat part of the flight of stairs.

"I just need to see what he was talking about, that's all," Arthur says, opening up the file, looking through it.

Joker walks towards the other. "Can I see it?"

"No! I'm trying to find out for myself!" Arthur snaps. "You have helped me enough! Just let me," Arthur paused.

As he starts to closely read what is inside the folder, the laughing fit starts to happen, resulting in Arthur flipping through the pages quickly.

Joker rips the file right out of Arthur's unstable hands. "You are in no condition to read it. I am."

Arthur banged his back against the cold tile wall, still laughing.

Joker looked through the file, his eyes wide. He then sees pictures of what had happened. He suddenly closes up the file, looking at Arthur. Joker sighs to himself, walking up the stairs.

After that, Joker walks back down, seeing that the laughing fit has died down.

"Those people that were mentioned in that file, I just can't wrap my head around it," Joker says, holding out his left hand.

Arthur grips his hand. "Why would-"

"Hey." Joker cuts him off. "At least I'm here. I'm here to help you, Arthur. Not to hurt you."

Arthur smiles weakly, looking at him.

They both exit Arkham State Hospital, silently.


	10. The Show Call

Midnight.

Arthur wakes up, sliding off the bed. He mutters to himself, rubbing his eyes.

Maybe I can do this, Arthur thought, walking out of the bedroom.

He walks towards the kitchen. He sees Joker sleeping on the couch in the living room.

Hopefully he won't wake up.

Arthur walks into the kitchen. As he opens the fridge, a cold breeze fills the air. He starts to take out the shelves and food out of the fridge, scattering the items around the floor.

Joker stirs, hearing the clatter going on in the kitchen. He sits up, groaning.

"What is going on? Arthur?" Joker mutters to himself.

A small beep goes off. Followed after that was a message from one of the detectives.

Joker yawns.

Shit! Arthur thought, looking through the fridge quickly to see if everything inside of it was gone. He starts to crawl inside of it, feeling the coolness over his body.

He then feels a grip on his right wrist.

"What are you doing up?" Joker asks, pulling Arthur away from the fridge.

Arthur looks up at him. "I was just trying to cool down."

"Are you trying to hide from the world? Or is this another suicide plan?"

Arthur looks away from Joker. Joker is still holding his wrist.

"Tell me the truth, Arthur."

Arthur sighed. "Yeah. Trying to die from hypothermia."

Joker isn't shocked in the slightest. "Get some sleep. It may be a big day tomorrow."

Arthur shakes his head. He tries to grab the open door of the fridge. Joker grips the other wrist.

"What happens if it isn't, Joker? What do I do then?"

Joker sighed. "Then, I'll handle it. I'm always here to make you happy."

Arthur looks up at him, trying to move his wrists out of Joker's grip.

"Are you going to keep me up all night just 'cause you wanna hide inside a fridge?"

"I was trying not to, but then you woke up from the noise."

Joker nods, looking Arthur in the eyes. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, can you let go of my wrists? I just want-"

"You are not crawling inside of there to 'cool down'. Give up. Just get some sleep." Joker lets go of Arthur's wrists. He then walks back over to the couch.

Arthur sighed, picking up the shelves and placing them back into the fridge.

~~~

The morning sun shined throughout parts of the apartment.

A phone started to beep inside the kitchen.

Joker sits up, stretching his arms and legs. He walks into the kitchen and picks up the phone, answering it.

Arthur walks out of the bedroom, yawning.

Joker ended the call on the phone.

"So, guess who is going on the Murray Franklin Show?"

Arthur shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm going. It said it was for you but, I didn't want to risk it," Joker said.

"You don't trust me?"

Joker sighed. "I do, it's just, I believe that you have to keep your identity a secret. You don't want cops to hunt you down, right?"

Arthur nods.

"Good choice."

Arthur walks over to the couch, sitting down. He stretches his arms and legs, groaning.

Joker takes out a cigarette, lighting it.


	11. Planning

Thursday in the afternoon, Gotham City.

"You still looking at those posters, Arthur?" Joker asked. They were walking down the sidewalk, feeling the calm air on their skin and clothes.

"Yeah. I can't believe that they are still talking about it. It's getting old, don't you think?"

"It's alright." Joker smirked. "Guess what tomorrow is."

"You going on the show?"

Joker smiles. "Yup! I got a whole plan for the thing, which is my skit."

Arthur smiles weakly. "You sure it's going to work?"

"I know it's going to work."

~~~

Joker was leaning on the hospital room door which held Penny Fleck. Arthur was inside the room. Arthur told him that he had to 'talk' with her for a moment.

How long is this talk going on for? Joker thought, tapping his left foot impatiently.

He then heard some muffling and thuds inside the room. Joker turned the knob, opening it to see Arthur, killing his own mother with a pillow over her face.

"Hey! Stop!" Joker snaps, panic filling his blood.

After a moment, it becomes silent.

"What did you-"

Arthur backs away from the murder that he has commited. Joker just stares at him.

Arthur looks out of a window, then he looks down at one of his cards.

"Are you impressed?" Arthur smirked, looking at Joker.

"I'm more shocked than that! Why did you," Joker paused. "Was it because of the file?"

Arthur nods, walking away from the window.

~~~

The evening.

Joker and Arthur were walking around the darkened streets of Gotham. Joker hummed quietly. Arthur was looking around himself.

"It's very quiet out here, isn't it?"

Joker looked at him. "Yeah. There should be yelling and destroying of buildings."

They both stopped. Looking down, they saw the staircase.

"How about we dance down these steps?"

"Are you insane, Joker?" Arthur asked.

"Nope, just having fun in this destroyed world."

Joker started to dance down the stairs, not having a care in the world about who sees him.

Arthur stood in awe.

"Come on!" Joker turned to look at him. "Get out that negativity!"

Arthur started to dance, but it looked restricted.

Are there others who are gonna see us? Arthur thought.

Joker went up to him. "Let out your feelings, Arthur. Is it really that hard to do?"

"No."

Joker skipped down the steps, continuing to dance.

After a moment, they were now on the same steps, dancing together. Smiles were on their faces.

When they got to the last step, they stopped, out of breath.

"See? Wasn't that fun?" Joker asked.

Arthur chuckles. "Yeah, it was. It made me feel free."

"That's what I wanted."

After they caught their breath, they walked back up the stairs, not saying a word.


	12. Jokes on Live TV

Friday.

Joker is touching up his makeup, looking into the mirror. As he finishes up, he stands up from the seat he was sitting in. He dusts off his red suit and walks into the living room.

"I do have a few minutes to spare before I get going."

Arthur was watching TV. He looks over at Joker.

Joker sighs, taking out a cigarette. "You know? I thought that this was going to be hard. It's not going to be. I'm just going to do what I've been writing in my journal."

"Really?"

Joker nods. "Yup. I'm not going to tell you the details but, I believe you are going to love it."

"You sure?" Arthur asks.

Joker smiles, walking over to him. "Do you want me to spoil it for you?"

Arthur shrugs his shoulders. "You're telling me! How about we just wait it out?"

"That's what I was thinking."

The room fell silent. Arthur stood up and turned off the TV. "You nervous about it?"

"Not really, I'm feeling calm about this." Joker walks over to the apartment door. "Well, hopefully I will see you after being on the show."

"Okay, Joker. Bye."

"Bye." Joker closes the door behind himself, walking down the hallway towards the elevator.

~~~

The evening.

Arthur is in the kitchen, looking inside of the fridge. He then heard a familiar jingle playing in the living room.

Guess it's that time, huh?

Arthur closes the fridge, walking into the living room. He yawned, sitting down on the couch. He relaxes himself, looking at the screen.

The TV was showing a segment with Dr. Sally, one of the guests on the show.

I guess Joker is going on after this, Arthur thought, stretching his arms.

During the show, it cuts to the comedy club clip that they had saved. Arthur glared at the screen, trying to ignore the laughter from the audience.

"I don't have any problems," Arthur muttered to the screen.

Then, after a moment, they introduce Joker. It cuts to Joker, exiting through the curtains. He does a spin, smiling wide with happiness.

Is he sure he's calm? Arthur smiles at the thought.

"So, tell us about this look. When we talked earlier, this wasn't a political statement, was it?"

"That's right, Murray, I'm not political, I'm just trying to make people laugh."

"How's that going for you?"

Arthur frowned after Murray's comment on what Joker had said. It wasn't even a joke to him anymore. He knew that Murray hated his whole being.

After a moment, Murray asks Joker if he had any jokes to tell the audience. Joker smiles, taking out his notebook.

Let's hear that joke, Arthur thought.

"Knock, knock."

A sudden pause.

"And you had to look that up?"

The audience roars with laughter.

Arthur taps his right foot with slight anger.

"I wanna get it right. Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"It's the police, mam. Your son has been hit by a drunk driver. He's dead."

The audience is silent.

Arthur laughs, smiling at the joke that was told. He then coughs, ending the laugh.

After a moment, Joker starts to confess to the killings of the three men on the subway.

Did he want to save me from the hate? Arthur thought.

Then, Joker starts to rant about the system. Murray then interrupts him.

Arthur lights a cigarette.

"How about another joke, Murray?"

"No, I think we had enough of your jokes."

"What do you get when you cross a mentaly ill loner, with a society that abandons him, and treats him like trash?! I'll tell you what you get, you get what you fucking deserve!"

Joker then takes out the gun, shooting Murray in the head, blood slowly pouring out of his head. Murray's head hung back, mouth open and eyes closed.

Arthur jumped, standing up. The sound of the gunshot sounded like it was near him. He then rushed over to the coat hanger, putting on his light jacket. He mutters to himself, not even bothering to turn off the TV. He then opens the apartment door, closing it behind him.

~~~

Arthur speed walked through a chaotic Gotham. Sirens were all over the place, and people were destroying cars that were parked on the streets.

Where is Joker? Arthur thought, looking around himself. He then heard a siren from down the street.

A police car had zipped by him, leading him to believe that Joker was in the car. He then saw a bunch of people in clown masks running after the cop car. Arthur followed them.

As the police car keeps driving, Joker looks out the window, handcuffed. He smiles at the chaos that is happening outside. He chuckles.

"This is no laughing matter, you freak," the cops spoke. "Look at what you have caused."

Joker leans his head on the net that separated him from the driver.

"I know. Isn't it beautiful?"

Suddenly, an ambulance hits the cop car, stopping it in it's tracks.

Arthur gasps, his eyes wide. He runs over to the crowd, trying to push through.

Two people in clown masks get out of the ambulance, walking over to the car they had hit. They reach in and take Joker out. They then lay him on top of the hood of the car. Having a key in one of their hands, one of them unlocks the cuffs, releasing him wrists. The two step back from him.

Arthur pushed through the crowd of rioters, trying to get to the car quickly. The rioters were cheering their heads off. Arthur then looked up, seeing Joker standing up, looking at the crowd. Joker then looks over to where Arthur was. He smiles.

Arthur got through the crowd. Joker lends his hand to the other. Pulling Arthur up onto the cop car, Joker chuckles lightly.

"You really did it, did you?" Arthur asks him.

"Yeah, it happened. I shot him." Joker looks over to the crowd.

"This is what happiness is, right?"

"Yes, it is, Arthur."

The two then embrace each other, smiling.

"You have now embraced chaos," Joker told him.

After a moment, they let go of each other. They then looked into the crowd, who were now cheering and clapping their hands. They looked back at each other, smiling.

Joker then feels something on his upper lip. It's blood dripping from his nose. He then uses the blood to make a smile.

The crowd then goes wild with cheers.

Arthur locks his left hand with Joker's hand. The two raise their arms, smiling widely.

The cheering continues.


	13. The Asylum

Laughter. The sound of a man cracking up.

Arthur was laughing, a carefree smile on his face. His wrists were in cuffs, a cigarette was held in his left hand.

Sitting across from him was a female therapist, just staring at him, waiting for him to finish.

As the laughter settled, the therapist asked, "What's so funny?" She was holding a clipboard, most likely taking notes on his behavior.

"I was just," Arthur paused. "I was just thinking of this joke." He starts to chuckle at the thought of something happening to a kid and their parents.

"Care to tell me the joke?" the therapist questioned him.

The white room fell silent for a moment.

Arthur then spoke. "You wouldn't get it." He smiles, taking his cigarette.

~~~

Leaving a trail of bloody footprints, Arthur hummed down the hall, smiling to himself. He looked back for a moment, then looked in front. He started to dance, moving his legs with grace and energy. With him being finally free from what happened weeks prior, he felt like a new person, a new being that couldn't stop being who he is.

He started to run down a hall, smiling wide.

That's life, Arthur thought as he walked back into the room he started in when he was transported to the asylum.


End file.
